Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Wednesday, November 1.

Suspect in custody after NYC terror attack leaves eight dead (“Officials said five of the eight people killed were among a group of Argentines celebrating the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation. Police shot and arrested a suspect, identified as Sayfullo Saipov, an Uzbek immigrant who had been living in Tampa.”)

8 Killed in ‘Act of Terror’ in Manhattan (“He was identified as a 29-year-old from Uzbekistan who came to the U.S. in 2010. Officials say that he shouted ‘God is great’ in Arabic, and that notes indicating loyalty to ISIS were near his truck.”)

Trump and his allies are laying the groundwork for a Saturday Night Massacre (“We don’t know if Trump will go full authoritarian or not. But as Brian Beutler says, the mere fact that congressional Republicans are not flashing a bright warning sign itself suggests that we cannot count on any procedural response meeting it, if it does come to that. The continued media treatment of efforts to lay the groundwork for such an eventuality as mere efforts to ‘distract’ from Mueller suggests another guardrail is inadequate as well.”)

Schapiro: A reminder Gillespie doesn’t need (“Through his spokesman, David Abrams, Gillespie declined to say what kind of relationship, if any, he may have had with Manafort. It’s difficult to believe they didn’t know of each other. And Democrats note that at one time Gillespie and Manafort apparently lived in the same Fairfax County neighborhood.” Alexandria, actually.)

Polling techniques may account for erratic predictions in Virginia (“Ultimately, the goal for all public pollsters doing pre-election surveys is to produce a more precise result. And in off-year elections in Virginia, that means making sure that the right voters are included in the survey and that those who won’t cast a ballot are excluded.”)

Impressive newcomer (“Now Mr. Mullin is running to keep that seat, and once again Ms. Cordasco is his opponent. Once again, we are endorsing Mr. Mullin…As it is, we are left with an incumbent who makes us uncomfortable, Republican Gordon Helsel, and a challenger who failed to impress us, Democrat Michael Wade.”)